


Of Doctorates and Dæmons

by agentverbivore (verbivore8642)



Series: Dæmon AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adorable FitzSimmons (Agents of SHIELD), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Daemon Feels, Daemon Separation, Daemon Touching, Daemons, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Episode: s01e06 FZZT, Episode: s01e22 Beginning of the End, Episode: s03e05 4722 Hours, Episode: s03e18 The Singularity, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Headcanon, Light Angst, Marriage Proposal, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2020-07-08 19:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbivore8642/pseuds/agentverbivore
Summary: Two scientists and their dæmons fell in love - ever wondered what happens after an Academy-erahappily ever after?Drabbles and headcanons following up onSide By Side, reposted from my tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Side By Side](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7533850) by [agentverbivore (verbivore8642)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbivore8642/pseuds/agentverbivore). 



> Please note that this is not a true/full fanfic. 
> 
> When I was locked out of my tumblr for 8.5 months (s/o to their support staff for ignoring all my messages), I realized the very real possibility that I'd lose all of the headcanons I'd created for this 'verse in my **[SBS Tidbits](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/tagged/sbs+tidbits)** tag, since I'd never saved them anywhere else. Fortunately, access to my account was restored recently, but to avoid that happening again, I've decided to copy all those headcanons/posts here.
> 
> I'll be editing/posting individual chapters when I have time. Most of them take the form of me answering questions, not true fiction prose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159079730323/i-just-wanted-to-tell-you-that-side-by-side-is-one).

> _[wolfsongblue](https://wolfsongblue.tumblr.com/) asked: I know the rest of the team didn't show up in the epilogue, but have you thought about what their dæmons would be?_

Skye / Daisy - [Weasel](http://woodstream.scene7.com/is/image/woodstream/hh-animals-weasel-4?%24ProductPgLarge2%24) (they can sense vibrations!)  
Coulson - [Mink](http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/Species%20and%20Habitats/Species%20Guide%20Index/Images/mink.jpg)   
May - [Red Kite](http://argatyredkites.co.uk/assets/cyclic/06.red-kite.jpg)  
Trip - [African Golden Cat](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f3/eb/93/f3eb93163571f02d4cedb514dff11a31.jpg)   
Mack - [Badger](https://maxpull-gdvuch3veo.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/badger-400x267.jpg)   
Elena - [Cheetah](https://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/531B/production/_91357212_spl.jpg)   
Hunter - [Hyena](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/09/0e/a2/090ea2d2b2b516d049b15205d928d161.jpg)   
Bobbi - [Mockingbird](http://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files//watchable-wildlife/images/northern%20mockingbird.jpg)   
Raina - [Malayan Coral Snake](https://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltevydkWXT1r2n0r8o1_500.jpg)   
Garrett - [Rottweiler](http://www.dogbreedslist.info/uploads/allimg/dog-pictures/Rottweiler-2.jpg)   
Ward - [Bee](http://pestworldforkids.org/media/12856/Small_bee-honeycomb.jpg) (I can see the look you’re all giving me. But they thrive in military-esque formations and he would carry it in one of those HDM metal carrying cases in his tact gear, which would make him seem unnerving at first because he wouldn’t seem to have a dæmon. Plus, there’s the Hive joke.)

I especially loved thinking about how their dæmons would affect all of their first reactions to each other. So, for example - weasels and lizards are hunted by birds like kites, so Skye’s and Fitz’s dæmons would be naturally wary of May’s. but Skye’s & Coulson’s dæmons are very similar, so they get along like gangbusters really quickly. Trip & Jemma’s dæmons also get along really well right off the bat for the same kind of reason. 

Before I could figure the others' dæmons out, I also had to have longer brainstorming conversations about what Inhuman terrigenesis would do to the dæmons. we decided in the end that it doesn’t change the dæmons, but that the dæmons were always reflective of the abilities that the Inhumans would ultimately display (were they to go through terrigenesis at all). This makes the terrigenesis always a part of them while also not actually being necessary, because the dæmons settled like that to begin with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159395369513/hi-i-love-side-by-side-and-wonder-if-you-have-any).

> _Anonymous asked: Hi! I love Side By Side and wonder if you have any plans for at least headcanons of some of the canon moments between the last chapter and the fic's epilogue? I keep thinking of where Ward first meets Fitzsimmons and Skye's 'psychically linked' scenes._

In this universe, Skye’s “psychically linked” quote doesn’t have the same significance as it does in canon. FitzSimmons have been dating for over half a decade by that point. When Skye says that, Jemma rolls her eyes, Fitz scoffs, and Caed and Sarama are just like “You have no idea.”

I almost wrote that first canon scene with Ward, actually! It was one of my potential epilogue ideas. It’s interesting because at first, Jemma and Caedmon are extremely wary of Ward. He appears to not have a daemon - that’s a disturbing image. Jemma bustles over to take his cheek swab and flinches when she realizes she can’t see a dæmon.

Of course, they then realize that his dæmon must be an insect - those aren’t uncommon, really, and people are known to keep them in protective cages. But recent fashion has them in bulletproof plastic cases that are visible to other people, attached to their clothes or strapped to their bodies on belts (and similar such things that aren't easily removable). Ward eschews that for the traditional military case, secured somewhere unseen on his person.

Jemma berates herself (and Caedmon, later) for jumping to assumptions about Ward - it’s what people did about them when they were teenagers, after all. It takes them all a long time to get used to one of their teammates often seeming like he doesn’t have a dæmon. None of the others on the Bus see Ward’s daemon for a long time, actually - he keeps her closed away. The first ones to see her are Skye and her weasel dæmon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159472156178/hey-i-just-finished-side-by-side-and-i-absolutely).

> _[sebstylinson](https://sebstylinson.tumblr.com/) asked: I wondered what would have happened in "FZZT" in your AU? Did any of that happen in your universe? If so, how did it work? If Jemma jumped, did Caedmon fall too? Or was there some struggle/pull of their bond?_

The events of FZZT in this universe are actually still a huge turning point for FitzSimmons, as they were in canon. It mostly happens the same - virus contraction, Fitz & Sarama breaking quarantine, Jemma & Fitz fighting with each other as they work desperately to find a cure that they aren’t sure is coming, etc. One different part of it that really does break my heart is something that happens right after Jemma knocks Fitz out with the fire extinguisher. 

Jemma and Caedmon decide together to knock Fitz out. They don’t need to say anything, they look at each other behind his and Sarama’s backs and they _know_. It’s time. 

(They don’t need to knock out Sarama, of course - she’s too small to be a hindrance to their plan. Which, let me tell you, she does _not_ like. It feeds into her own arc through later canon events, especially her self confidence issues.) 

Caedmon can’t say goodbye to her - he just doesn’t know how - so he presses their noses together at the edge of the table just as Jemma runs for the door release. Sarama’s screams haunt both their dreams for weeks. Once the lab door is closed and Jemma has the loading dock going, she turns back to her daemon. He asks if he can stay up here with them and, blinking back tears, she nods - snapping their bond might kill them faster, actually, and be less painful than crashing into the ocean at terminal velocity. 

Jemma presses their foreheads together to say goodbye, scrunching her hands into his mane, and then quickly turns to step to the edge of the loading bay.

By this point, Fitz has stood up again, and the first thing he sees is Caedmon sitting on his haunches by the glass doors, just watching Fitz - and Fitz realizes exactly what this means, even without Sarama screaming tearfully about the living rat from the lab table where Caedmon left her. Fitz goes berserk, throwing himself against the doors. Caedmon, unable to see the moving rat from where he is until the lab doors open, doesn’t know and can’t hear why Fitz is screaming - he assumes he just doesn’t want them to die (of course he doesn’t). Jemma turns to look at Fitz and their eyes meet just as the lab doors open and the wind _whooshes_ her away. 

Fitz lunges for the parachutes and grabs one, but not for himself - he forces it onto Caedmon, pushing the lion bodily towards the end of the loading dock and just barely managing to get his legs through the arm holes. These parachutes aren’t made for lions, even small ones like Caedmon, but it’s better than nothing. Caedmon, for the record, is letting him do all of this - if he were resisting, Fitz wouldn’t be able to do it. But Caedmon saw the mice heal, too, at last, and so he lets Fitz put on the parachute and shove the lion off the plane - nearly falling over the edge himself but stumbling back just in time. Fitz sprints to the parachutes again, and then trips when Sarama screams for him to come get her - and that’s when Ward finally arrives, tucking his dæmon’s metal container into his pocket, grabbing the parachute from Fitz, and leaping out of the plane to save Jemma (and yank the parachute string on Caedmon on his way down). 

In this universe, this event instigates the chasm between FitzSimmons that we don’t see until season 2 in canon - Fitz and Sarama are so bloody _angry_ at Jemma and Caedmon for breaking their promise, for leaving them, for sacrificing themselves, for not believing that they could fix it together. 

It takes them all a long time to heal that rift.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159546129353/hi-i-love-sbs-and-all-your-headcanons-about-that).

> _Anonymous asked: in SBS since FS are together when F.Z.Z.T. happens and Fitz's feelings are clearly evident to himself and Jemma, how did their immediate interactions following Jemma's rescue go? Did a variation of the "you're the hero" thing happen or was Fitz too upset to speak?_

Yes, they definitely still have that conversation! Although Fitz is angry with her for attempting to sacrifice herself, he sort of builds into that anger - his and Sarama’s primary emotion upon Jemma & Caedmon’s return to the Bus is relief. And his self esteem issues are a big factor after that day, as well - from his perspective, what did he do? All he did was push Caedmon out of the plane, and then fumble with the parachute only for Ward to swoop in and save the day. That reaction from Fitz doesn’t change, even if he knows that Jemma loves him. Him knowing that she loves him actually makes her “you’re the hero” declaration seem less meaningful in his head. She loves him, so of course she’s going to say that he was the hero. Her love doesn’t quite stop his inner demons, unfortunately. 

The main difference about the scene is how the conversation happens - it’s in one of their bunks, still, but with the two of them as tangled together as possible, Fitz’s face buried in her neck and her nose pressed against his hair. (The daemons are cuddled together as they usually are, squished between the end of the tiny bed and the wardrobe.) Jemma whispers that he’s her hero into his curls, clutching him tightly against her, and says she’s sorry over and over again, and Fitz just tries to breathe her in, because he’s realized all over again that he truly can’t live in a world that doesn’t have her in it, but that she would sacrifice herself in an instant if it meant saving the world. And he doesn’t know what to do about it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159530887183/i-saw-that-youve-answered-a-question-about-your).

> _Anonymous asked: In your headcanon, does Fitz get jealous like he does in canon (like with Trip)? Or is he never jealous since he and Jemma are already dating? Also, does Jemma ever get jealous? In AoS, Fitz had a crush on Skye. Obviously he won't in SbS. But does Jemma feel something as he befriends Skye?_

Actually, they both do get a little jealous, but obviously not in the same way in canon. Jemma can’t help but notice that Fitz and Sarama open up to Skye and her weasel daemon in a way that she isn’t quite sure she’s seen them do with anyone else. Caedmon notices too, and just, well… gets a bit territorial. He goes over to Fitz in the lab for scratches a _lot_ more than normal during those early days on the Bus. And then just picture Skye’s face the first time she sees Fitz touch Jemma’s daemon _in public_ for not-practical purposes! Her eyes are wide as dinner plates. Her dæmon thinks she's lying or exaggerating when she tells him later (he didn't see it happen), and he doesn't believe Skye at all until he sees Jemma pick up Sarama in the lab a few days later.

Fitz notices Caedmon's behavior, and brings it up in one of their bunks one night early on. (They have separate bunks on the Bus for space allotment purposes, but they generally alternate spending the night in each bunk. Fitz was pretty strongly opposed to the separate bunks arrangement, but Jemma talked him down - it would be inappropriate for them to share a bunk on a plane with 4 other colleagues. She doesn’t love it either, but such is life sometimes. It’s a small price to pay for seeing the world - together.) Jemma’s embarrassed about Caedmon's actions, but fesses up to feeling the same way - and it’s so _silly_ , she says, because she doesn’t _really_ feel jealous. She’s very secure in her and Fitz’s relationship. They’ve been together for over half a decade by this point, what does she have to be jealous about? (Only that Skye is very pretty, and she understands the tech stuff that Jemma never cared quite as much about, and that her boyfriend has never really shown _any_ interest in another woman before, even if Jemma knows that it’s just platonic.) Fitz teases and reassures her, and they cuddle. 

It’s a little more difficult to smooth things over about Trip, in part because when he arrives on the Bus, FitzSimmons are still dealing with the fallout from their rift post-FZZT. The two of them aren’t estranged - they’re still sharing a bed most nights by this point. Fitz comforting Jemma after Skye’s near-death in TRACKS helps to bring them back together a bit. But then Trip shows up, being everything Fitz wishes he could be (doesn’t matter that Jemma loves him exactly the way he always was) _and_ for the first time ever, Caedmon is getting along with someone else’s daemon. The lion makes the first move of friendship towards Trip's African Golden Cat, and since Fitz & Sarama have literally never seen Caedmon approach anyone else’s daemon before, it stings deeply. But because Fitz is naturally grumpy anyway, and Jemma’s distracted both by their already tense relationship as well as by taking care of Skye, she _doesn’t_ notice. Then they get separated just before Hydra’s return, and the world goes to hell in a handbasket - so they never talk about Fitz feeling jealous of Trip. It’s something that’s hanging over their relationship when they end up in the pod.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159575075563/i-really-love-reading-through-your-sbs-tidbits).

> _Anonymous asked: How were Jemma's time undercover at Hydra and Fitz's recovery after the pod changed due to the nature of their relationship in that universe?_

The main issue at hand is still Fitz’s self esteem after the brain injury. It’s easier in this ‘verse for Jemma to be caring and loving of Fitz during his recovery because she’s had years of practice of showing him affection throughout their relationship, _and_ she has her own reference point this time: The way that Fitz helped her after the 8/8 bomb. She also doesn’t have to tiptoe around her own feelings for him (or his feelings for her) like canon!Jemma did. Unfortunately, none of that really ameliorates his own frustration with and (unwarranted) shame about his need for recovery and physical/other therapy. So much of Fitz's self esteem as a character is wrapped up in being "smart enough" or "clever enough" that his whole sense of self is shaken when the aphasia makes it difficult for him to express himself and/or make the same quick-fire mental connections he's used to being able to make.

Remember in [chapter 12](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7533850/chapters/20022574) when they're napping in the yard, and Jemma's father glibly says that it's a good thing for Fitz that he's smart, because otherwise Jemma wouldn't have paid him any attention? Well, unsurprisingly to you all I'm sure, Fitz _did_ overhear her father's comment - and he isn't privy to her inner thoughts in that scene, so it just cements (either consciously or not) his belief that his intelligence is the only reason that Jemma sticks with him at all. And that belief is alive and well when he wakes up after the pod with his brain injury. Not that Jemma really knows how ingrained this is in Fitz, that is - she's even told him before, as best she can, that he's "[so much more than that wonderful brain.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7533850/chapters/21811196)" Jemma never imagines how deeply his insecurities lie.

What really guts Jemma and Caedmon during this time is Sarama’s behavior. Not only does she stop speaking - as it says in [the epilogue](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F7533850%2Fchapters%2F23190168&t=ZDEzZGFjMjcwM2M4MDk1MWQ3OTI2NzhiMGM0NDA0N2Q0YzRkZTg2NCxFVEE1TFYxcQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159575075563%2Fi-really-love-reading-through-your-sbs-tidbits&m=0) \- she stops spending all of her time with the lion, instead preferring to stick to Fitz like glue. This hurts and worries both Jemma and Caedmon deeply - after all, Sarama had spent a full decade choosing to spend time with Caedmon rather than doing just about anything else. But they don’t say anything because if that’s what Fitz and Sarama need during their recovery, then that’s how things should be. But it causes Caedmon in particular a great amount of pain. On top of being deeply worried about her, he just plain misses her.

The lion tries to make up for this by being extra cuddly with Fitz, which actually sort of works. Even though he has trouble speaking, Fitz still shows Caedmon affection, and some nights he falls asleep curled around the lion rather than Jemma. She doesn’t mind this at all; it brings her to happy tears on more than one occasion. Even if Fitz is having trouble with his recovery, and they’ve been bickering, and he’s frustrated with how slow he is at relearning how to speak, at least he still wants to hold her daemon. It’s that memory that keeps her going once she leaves for Hydra.

Which, yes, Jemma and Caedmon still make the decision to do. Fitz’s recovery is going slowly, both because he’s relying on Jemma and because half the time he’s ashamed to make mistakes around her (and mistakes, of course, are an important part of that kind of therapeutic process). So they ask for the undercover position, and Coulson grants it to them. But they don’t lie to Fitz and Sarama about where they’re going - they say that they can’t give specifics, but that they’re going to be undercover for SHIELD for a long time. They don’t know when they’ll be back, or how often they’ll be able to write, but they love them, and they’ll return as soon as they can.

Fitz and Sarama don’t believe them. They still think, as in canon, that Jemma and Caedmon left because now they’re “useless.” 

Whenever Jemma meets with Coulson, she passes messages to him for Fitz, and he responds, also through Coulson. (Fortunately for them, Papa!Coulson is more than happy to help.) in some ways, corresponding through writing is good for their relationship and for Fitz specifically, because it avoids the stuttering that he hates so much. When she eventually gets back, their relationship continues to heal slowly - they’re not good at sharing their feelings, and Fitz lets the resentment about her leaving when he needed her most build, until they eventually have a huge blow-out. The fight, though painful, actually manages to clear the air between them, letting Fitz finally express his feelings and giving Jemma the chance to make it abundantly clear that [her father was wrong](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F7533850%2Fchapters%2F20022574&t=MzQ3ZGM0ODU1NDM5NGM3NDRhMGIwNTVjY2RkZDMwMzEyN2Q3ZWRmOSxFVEE1TFYxcQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159575075563%2Fi-really-love-reading-through-your-sbs-tidbits&m=0) about why she fell in love with Fitz. She loves his mind, yes, but it is his heart that she so adores - and he needs to _believe her_. Even if he is different now, she will love every version of his self that he chooses to share with her - if he _actually_ allows her in. They’ve both made mistakes; but it’ll be better if they start making them together.

This happens not long after Skye and her daemon undergo terrigenesis, so mid-season 2. Sarama finds her voice again as she’s helping Skye’s daemon come to terms with his and Skye’s own new version of themselves. Helping their friends, oddly enough, gives Sarama the courage to go back to Caedmon. (And in this ‘verse, there’s no hiding the results of Skye’s DNA test.) 

The rest of the storyline for them in season 2 is FitzSimmons re-learning how to be in a relationship together as adults. They started dating at such a young age, the relationship itself never really grew as they did. They have a silly second “first date” in the mess hall, and the night that “Real SHIELD” takes over the base, they make love for the first time since the pod. In some ways, they’ve never been happier. Jemma makes an offhand remark about marriage as they lie together in bed one morning, and Fitz doesn’t shy away. She suddenly has the sense that he’d been thinking about it all on his own - and maybe it was about time they stopped taking each other for granted. Maybe it was time they stopped always prioritizing their work and started prioritizing the life that they want to build together.

And then Jemma and Caedmon are taken by the monolith. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159157686108/hello-i-love-side-by-side-your-writing-is).

> _Anonymous asked: About the epilogue, why did Caedmon refuse to speak to Jemma? Does it have to do with Will?_

It sort of has to do with Will, although not in the same way as it was in canon (aka. no romance), but it mostly has to do with the way that the existence of daemons fundamentally changes the way the world works in this universe. (And honestly, it fixes half a dozen logic flaws in that entire canon Maveth storyline.) It does take a bit of explaining, however, so bear with me - there's lots of His Dark Materials lore in here.

In this ‘verse, Hive actually feeds off of dæmons, or, more specifically, [the Dust/Rusakov particles that make up dæmons and connects humans and their dæmons](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDust_%28His_Dark_Materials%29&t=OTdhOTg4YjUzOGE3NTE5ZjUzNzdmNDZhYWI0NjI0MTc4NjlkNjAyOSxIQkMyUVdjWA%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159157686108%2Fhello-i-love-side-by-side-your-writing-is&m=0). While studying the Rusakov particles and in search of Hive, NASA sends Will and his team through the monolith. One by one, Hive rids the team members of their dæmons, Dementor-soul-sucking-style, thereby killing them through torturous means. A human cannot survive once their dæmon is dead - except in the following, extremely rare circumstance. The remaining team members go insane - partially because of the isolation/planet, and partially out of terror that their dæmons will be next. During a struggle involving the advanced Hydra/NASA equipment they brought with them (which I imagine has something to do with researching the concept of [intercision](https://hdm.fandom.com/wiki/Intercision) and the power created by that separation), somehow Will is **severed** from his dæmon (a part-husky, part-terrier mix named [Laika](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLaika&t=ZGM2YTRlZGMyZmJlYWZkMDVkOTE5ZjZjMWQ1NTA0NDdiMTJjNTUwOSxIQkMyUVdjWA%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159157686108%2Fhello-i-love-side-by-side-your-writing-is&m=0)), who disappears just like dæmons do when their humans die. 

Because of the way “severing” or intercision happens, though, the human doesn’t die - it turns them into a “lifeless shell” of a person who has been separated permanently from their soul. Their survival instincts still exist, but almost everything else about them is just… gone. (This is from canon HDM; it has to do with how the separation happens and the equipment used, not anything from the SHIELD-verse.) As a result, Will outlasts the rest of his teammates, all of whom die as Hive finds them one by one on the planet and consumes their daemons. (They are not “severed,” which is a specific term used for what happens to Will.) What happened to Will was a fluke - an accident. Hydra was never able to figure out how to sever people without killing the person as well as the dæmon. Once the accidental intercision takes place, Hive has no reason to kill Will because he no longer can feed off the Rusakov particles - Will is irrelevant to him. Without a soul and without anything other than the need for more than basic sustenance, he manages to exist for 14 years just because he doesn’t quite know how to stop living. He’s empty in a way from which there is no coming back.

During their initial journey through the monolith, Jemma and Caedmon experience the same kind of bond stretching that Lyra and Pan experience in HDM when she goes to the land of the dead - rather than the approximately-two-story bond that is elaborated in SBS, they can travel much further distances from each other from that point on. This is useful while they're trying to understand their surroundings after they first arrive on the dark planet, but they don't use it much. They're deeply frightened, after all, and for those two months, all they have is each other. The distance separation is also quite unfamiliar to them, and they're too nervous to test it much farther than the normal boundaries that they're used to - they do a bit of scientific observations about it to pass the time early on, but that's about it. (Until they finally make their way back home, that is, at which point Caedmon tests it frequently without Jemma's consent... read on.)

After 2 months of surviving on the planet by themselves, Jemma and Caedmon meet Will, but it’s difficult to befriend someone who no longer has a soul or a personality. He speaks, but barely, and spends a lot of time just sitting and staring at the walls of the cave. (I draw this from HDM directly, where Lyra tries to befriend a boy who has been severed from his daemon.) This, however, is why Jemma and Caedmon are confined to the cave while Will is not - Will has nothing to lose by going out into Hive’s storms, whereas Jemma could lose Caedmon (and, therefore, her life). 

Much of the middle part of their time on the dark planet takes place similarly - trying to get home to Fitz and Sarama, and having their last chance go up in proverbial flames. They are inconsolable - not that their severed companion would know how to console them anyway. However, Caedmon wants to keep looking, while Jemma’s heart is just broken - she can’t see any way home again. One of the reasons he stops speaking to her is because she just _gave up_ , and it takes him a long time to forgive her for that. (Which is, in effect, what I think happens in canon and makes her recovery process that much more difficult. Her relationship with Caedmon is a physical manifestation of her canonical depression and self-loathing, ca. 3x04.)

In the meantime, Jemma tries to make herself as much at home on the planet as she can, which includes her attempting to help return some of Will’s humanity. She knows this might be a fool’s errand, she knows, but it gives her a purpose that is otherwise completely absent on the planet. And as we well know, our Jemma functions best with some kind of purpose or goal with which to focus on. She notices that sometimes Will’s eyes just follow Caedmon around - it’s been so long since he’s had a daemon, after all. (This kind of behavior by someone who has been severed is, again, drawn from HDM.) And Jemma misses having Fitz around to hold Caedmon. So eventually she tries to convince Caedmon to let Will touch him. Perhaps having contact with someone else's dæmon would fill the hole left permanently by Laika's death. Jemma reminds Caedmon that she won’t ever love anyone like Fitz - let alone someone who is barely human at this point - but it would be the kind thing to do. How horrible must it be for him to live without his soul? They argue about it for a long time, and ultimately, Jemma wins out. Caedmon backs into a corner of the cave, a low growl in his throat as Will reaches over to pet his head. 

The second that Will makes contact with Caedmon's fur, a completely new feeling washes over both the lion and Jemma. Jemma tries to hold it in, tries to let it happen, but she retches, bursting into sobs immediately. It’s not the same when it’s not Fitz, and she can feel the revulsion and anger rolling off of her daemon through their bond. Will doesn't notice right away, with his back facing Jemma and as he tries to feel _something_ , anything, but he withdraws his hand once he does notice. Caedmon runs, escaping the cave and sprinting away. Frantic about the potential for Hive to be anywhere close by their hideout, Jemma and Will follow him, Jemma calling for her daemon through the sand dunes, and the humans get separated. Just as she catches up to the lion, reaching forward to try to bring Caedmon back to safety, the flare explodes into the night sky. 

Caedmon looks up and breathes: “Fitz.”

The two of them sprint into motion, running towards the flare as fast as they can. The next few minutes happen just like in canon - although here, Fitz has Sarama strapped to his shoulder in a pseudo-tactical gear holder. 

This takes place after she’s been on what she knows as the dark planet for a little over 4.5 months. Fitz never gets to the point in his research of discovering the Maveth name, thus her referring to it as the dark planet throughout the epilogue. His research also takes a different focus than in canon, in that one of his favorite theories about how to find Jemma & Caedmon centers around the belief that the subtle knife - which can slice between the boundaries of different universes - is his best shot at getting them back.

It’s ultimately thanks to Skye’s weasel dæmon that they get back from the dark planet sooner than in canon - he keeps sniffing around the monolith, sure he knows something about it, but it takes him a long time to figure that out, and then it takes them even longer to figure out how to tap into and manipulate those vibrations without killing Skye in the process. 

Once back home, Jemma curls into Fitz’s arms and won’t leave - if she’s not crying, she’s kissing him anywhere she can reach, and he doesn’t stop her. As if he would deny her anything, especially then. The only time he isn’t holding her back is when he needs to exercise his left arm; ever since the pod, it continues to have tremors and gets stiff if it isn’t in motion for a long time. She tells him everything - all of it - as soon as she’s able. But she feels guilty for not even thinking about Will as she escaped. His life is so horrible without his daemon, shouldn’t they try to rescue him? Fitz agrees without hesitation. 

But when she finally separates from Fitz for any period of time, Caedmon doesn’t follow her. If Fitz goes to shower, Caedmon goes with him. If he goes to the lab, Caedmon goes with him. At every other moment of the day, the lion pretends that Jemma doesn’t exist. The stretching of their bond allows him to disappear from Jemma's room while she's asleep without her noticing whenever he's able. For all intents and purposes, her dæmon (her soul) abandons her in favor of staying with Fitz. It’s heartbreaking. 

It’s also the final step in the story that really begins in [SBS](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F7533850&t=NjUzMGQ0MjU0ZWRmOThmNDM3YmJiMGIxODc5YTFjZjkxY2FiMjQzOCxIQkMyUVdjWA%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159157686108%2Fhello-i-love-side-by-side-your-writing-is&m=0) proper - the two of them are often more at odds than most people are with their daemons. The dark planet storyline is the final lesson that the two of them need to learn - Jemma can’t always rely on her logic, and Caedmon cannot ignore her and follow his instincts all the time. They have to learn how to work together, and it’s been something they’ve been learning their entire lives. This storyline - taking the form as an exploration of Jemma’s long journey to recovery from her PTSD - is the culmination of that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159609920148/more-sbs-questions-hope-you-dont-mind-i-just).

> _Anonymous asked: After rescuing Jemma from Maveth, did Fitz still rent out the entire restaurant? Was there still a 4.5-month+ reservation? If so, did Jemma break down in the middle of it? Also, how did Jemma break the news about Will, and how did Fitz react to it? Nothing romantic happened with Will, but she did allow another man to touch Caedmon._

Most of this ask implicitly attributes a lot of weight to a character who means very little in the long run, aside from being the catalyst for exposing an already extant fundamental problem with the way that Jemma and Caedmon treat each other. As it should be treated in the fandom as well as canon, Will in this ‘verse is little more than a point on the story board - not something or someone that drives either Jemma or Fitz’s behavior.

And “allow another man to” - that makes it sound like she let him touch her boob or something. Remember that Will in this universe _does not have a soul_ (and hasn’t had one for 14 years). His gender and sexuality are a moot point. In thinking about it, I don’t believe Will could actually consent to anything romantic or sexual anyway, in addition to not having an interest in it himself. Without a daemon, he is empty. The only thing he wanted in the world is to have his dæmon back. Getting back to earth doesn’t even really interest him - this is why severing/intercision is so **horrific**. It scoops the person’s being right out of them. 

Yes, Jemma did have Will touch Caedmon, but: A) Even if she did briefly think beforehand about how much she missed having Fitz touch Caedmon, she already knew it wouldn’t be the same - she has an acute self awareness that canon!Jemma did not, which comes from having spent her whole life being able to physically have conversations with her innermost being / soul. B) It made her feel physically ill. C) The main reason was because she was living with someone who had no dæmon. 

Imagine watching the person you live with day in and out, a friend who saved your life, exist as a shell of a human being. The only time you ever see them show real interest in anything, a flicker of life behind their soulless eyes, is when they look at your dæmon. Who could blame Jemma for wanting to alleviate that suffering? Even though it isn’t suffering as we know it, not quite, because without his daemon, Will can’t actually _feel_ anything. I'd imagine it's this sort of ache of absence.

Fitz certainly doesn’t blame Jemma for initiating that contact in the cave. Neither does he feel any jealousy about Will, frankly, because he understands instinctively the horror of being a human without a dæmon. Fitz is empathetic enough that he relates to Jemma’s urge - he thinks that he might have offered the same thing to Will if he had been in that situation. What else _could_ you do for someone whose soul would never return? There is no respite from something like that - but they're both scientists, so the least they can do is _try_ , and see what might happen.

There isn’t any “news” for Jemma to “break” to Fitz about Will - it’s all about explaining her time on the planet, and most importantly, explaining why Caedmon is refusing to speak to her. Although Jemma instigates the physical contact between Will and Caedmon that acts as the last straw between her and her dæmon, Jemma giving up hope on ever seeing Fitz and Sarama again is the true crux of their rift. She gives up on them and tries to make the best of the life that they have on the dark planet, and Caedmon cannot forgive her for that. Caedmon already has a history of refusing to give up on Fitz and Sarama no matter what logic might dictate - see Jemma attempting to move on during the summer before 8/8.

The story at this point in this ‘verse is about Jemma and her learning to live with all parts of herself, and her recovery from severe PTSD, as it should always have been in the show. 

Jemma’s trauma is severe, so she can’t quite verbalize everything to Fitz right after returning from the dark planet, but as soon as she’s able to tell him, she tells him about Will right away, since he is just one important part of her story. She does so while curled up against Fitz’s chest in their bed, with him handing her tissues and water as needed. What really _does_ need explaining is why Caedmon isn’t talking to her, but even she doesn’t understand that that’s happening at first. Jemma does snap at Fitz a couple times in the lab early on, after Caedmon's behavior triggers her PTSD and she takes it out on the closest person to her - Caedmon, typically at that point, is near Fitz but not acknowledging Jemma's existence. So like in canon, Jemma lashes out at Fitz unfairly, although the main difference is that she recognizes it quickly and shakily apologizes. She doesn't have entire control over her own responses at that point, of which Fitz is acutely aware.

Jemma and Fitz spend so much time together in her first days of return and recovery that they don’t even consciously notice Caedmon’s behavior. Once they finally realize that Caedmon is ignoring her and following Fitz around instead, it takes Jemma a little bit longer to figure out why, and at that point she explains her last couple of hours on the dark planet to Fitz in greater detail - not because she was hiding it, but because it hadn’t yet come up. She'd mentioned the touching, since that was a part of why she wants to go back to try to save Will and see if they can do anything for his soul, but not that Caedmon had run off into a storm that could very well have exposed him to Hive. Fitz took charge of the research on repairing the monolith while insisting that Jemma continue to rest and recuperate. 

As for the dinner - Fitz had been planning on proposing that night when Jemma gets swallowed up by the monolith, so he has the reservation held for the nearly 5 months that she and Caedmon are gone. When they return, he’s worried about Jemma’s recovery, as well as being seriously concerned by Caedmon’s behavior (aka. sticking to Fitz like glue and abandoning his human). He decides to take them to dinner for the same reasons that he does in canon - but, unfortunately, it backfires. Jemma, trying to behave normally, points out to Caedmon that there’s filet mignon on the menu - he loves filet mignon. The lion - curled up halfway underneath Fitz’s chair - doesn’t answer her. 

Fitz, looking worriedly at where Jemma’s starting to tear up, says that Caedmon probably just didn’t hear her, and bends over to get Caed’s attention. Caedmon answers Fitz straight away, and Jemma bursts into tears. Unsure what else to do, Fitz comes around to her side of the table and lets her cry onto his shoulder, watching as Sarama whispers something he can’t hear to Caedmon, who keeps his head turned resolutely away from the other end of the table. As much as Fitz and Sarama want to help, this is something that Jemma and Caedmon have to learn to reconcile on their own.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159684068532/what-was-it-like-for-fitz-having-caed-with-him).

> _Anonymous asked: What was it like for Fitz, having Caedmon with him constantly and refusing to go back to Jemma? Did he try to talk to him about it, ask him to speak to her, etc.? Also, I know their bond had been stretched, but did Jemma still have to keep kinda near Fitz or risk death, or was she generally just near him anyway?_

Fitz was devastated - but it’s such a complicated situation for both him and Sarama. Normally, Sarama is the one who would talk to Caedmon about something like this, but for the first time possibly ever, he flat-out refuses to talk about it to her at all. He doesn’t even ask Fitz if he can follow him around, he just… goes wherever he goes. If Fitz goes on a mission that Caedmon can’t worm his way into, which does happen a few times (since SHIELD plans missions around assigned agents and their dæmons, and a lion requires extra planning/budget/accommodations), he waits in the hangar until Fitz returns. When Fitz goes to shower or to the bathroom, Caedmon waits outside the door. Caedmon talks to Sarama as usual about everything else, and they still spend most of their time curled together, but with this _thing_ hanging over them all, Sarama feels extremely anxious almost constantly, as does Fitz. 

As for their bond, Jemma and Caedmon’s unplanned trip through the monolith (as opposed to Fitz’s two planned trips, with Sarama strapped to him) stretched their bond in the same way that Lyra and Pan’s was when they went to the land of the dead - if I remember it correctly, it became nigh unbreakable after that particular traumatic event, and effectively limitless. But Jemma and Caedmon never test it past the edges of the expansive base’s borders, simply because it would be seen as so unusual for humans who aren't witches. That’s the one of the reasons why Caedmon doesn’t insist on going with Fitz on missions to which Jemma hasn’t been assigned. He does try at first, but Fitz convinces him to stay at the base. As it is, Caedmon’s behavior has drawn the attention of most of their colleagues anyway.

It’s hard, because Fitz loves both Jemma and Caedmon equally - they’re the same being, after all. But now one of them has outright rejected the other, so what can Fitz do? Generally, a person’s relationship with their dæmon is the business of no one else, not even their spouse or partner. It’s something of the utmost privacy, even to spouses - sort of similar to how a large percentage of people in long-term, committed relationships never permit their significant other to touch their dæmon. But - does that privacy even apply anymore when the dæmon is basically acting (or attempting to act) as someone else’s dæmon? 

Then of course Fitz sees how Jemma is suffering, and it physically pains him to watch her be all alone like this. When she does make brief forays into the lab, she’s this diminished figure without her dæmon by her side or nearby. Remember, we're used to seeing Jemma without anyone with her - but in this universe, Fitz and Sarama have _never_ known Jemma _without_ the impressive figure of a lion by her side. Unlike Fitz, of course, Jemma's dæmon settled around when she hit puberty - at most, he's seen her in pictures as a child with Caedmon trying out different animals, but even then it strikes him as sort of odd. He's just used to seeing Jemma with her lion all the time, and now, she has... nothing. 

Fitz and Jemma talk about Caedmon leaving her, but Jemma doesn’t have much to say about it - she’s already told Fitz everything. If Fitz tentatively brings it up, she usually struggles not to cry. She _misses_ her dæmon so terribly, but she cannot really blame Caedmon for hating her. She doesn’t have a counterargument, because - in a rare moment - she sort of agrees with him. (This part of the storyline is effectively a parable about Jemma refusing to forgive herself.) And it’s a bit awkward for Fitz and Jemma to talk about it, because inevitably Caedmon is somewhere near Fitz - it’s sort of like gossiping about someone while they’re standing right there. 

Sarama, in return, tries to spend as much time with Jemma as she can, but without the stretched bond that Jemma and Caedmon have, she can only be away from Fitz for so long. Jemma and Caedmon’s rift causes Sarama immense distress, more so even than Fitz at times, but she doesn’t know what to do - she’s only one lizard, and neither of them listen to her. Well, Jemma does. When Sarama climbs onto her lap or arms, Jemma does take a lot of comfort from her presence. But it isn’t enough, of course. 

Fitz does notice that Caedmon will nudge him throughout the day while he’s working for head scratches far more than he used to, far more than is normal around their colleagues. Fitz never refuses him, but he uses that as a jumping off point for starting a conversation about him and Jemma. But ultimately, this isn’t something Fitz and Sarama can help with - they can encourage Caedmon to talk to Jemma, and reassure them both of their unwavering love and support, but this is about Jemma and her dæmon. The two of them need to work things out on their own. (And perhaps with a little help from Andrew.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159603930321/idk-if-youve-addressed-this-yet-but-in-sbs-when).

> _[gendrysarya](https://gendrysarya.tumblr.com/) asked: When did Fitz finally get around to proposing? I just read your answer about how they started thinking about marriage right before she gets taken by the monolith, so how much time passes before he pops the question? And how does he go about it? _

It happens [during what’s 3x17](https://thefitzsimmonsnetwork.tumblr.com/post/173106410215/leopoldjamesfitzs-happy-2nd-anniversary-to-these) in canon. They’ve just survived yet another bomb - and this time, it's in the Playground, their home, theoretically one of SHIELD's most secure facilities. When they're at home, they're supposed to be _safe_ \- but of course, being with SHIELD never really is. For Fitz and Sarama, this is far, far too similar to 8/8, and yet again it happened not long after a prolonged separation - last time, they were apart for the summer, and this time, Jemma and Caedmon were trapped on the dark planet. So Fitz snaps unnecessarily at Lincoln and moodily agrees with Coulson that they lie low for the time being. 

Once the four of them are in their room, Jemma gets right to work, leaning back against Caedmon as if he were a gigantic pillow at the end of the queen-sized bed and grumbling about how they should be in the lab. Fitz, agitated, just stands in the center of the room for a bit, trying to calm down from the horror of having seen a second bomb go off far too close to Jemma and Caedmon. Sarama wriggles in his hands as he's holding her a bit too tightly, and he finally plops her onto the mattress, just above the lion. What if next time the bomb hits its target? Absent-mindedly, Jemma reaches up to the edge of the bed to rub the backs of her fingers against Sarama’s scales, and that familiar feeling of her touching his soul just crashes over Fitz. What would his life be without her? Without knowing that at least she was _somewhere_? 

As Fitz is watching her do their work, something he sees her do every day but now with cuts and bruises on her face, he just blurts it out:

“Will you marry me?”

Jemma blinks up at him, lips parting in shock. “What?”

Panic darting through his chest, Fitz sinks to his knees next to her on the floor, reaching forward and taking away the tablet that she is now only loosely holding. “Marry me, Jemma? I just - I know we sorta talked about it, and I was gonna plan a whole night, with roses and dinner and everything, but then with the bomb and Hive and I know you’re still recovering, and it doesn’t have to be right away, if it’s too soon, but I -”

She bursts into laughter, pushing herself up onto her knees so that their faces are even. “Too soon? Fitz, we’ve been together in some way for over ten years.”

“Eleven years and eight months,” he corrects, cheeks reddening. “Give or take a few days.”

Grinning, she stretches up to press their foreheads together, curling her fingers gently around the back of his neck. “Yes, I will marry you, Leopold James Fitz. As long as you marry me right back.”

“Deal,” he breathes, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and capturing her lips with his.

“Don’t I get any input?” comes Caedmon’s voice from behind them, and Fitz lets out a small chuckle against Jemma’s lips. She groans quietly, and twists around to look at her daemon. The lion must have moved up to the end of the bed at some point while they were distracted, and now lies with his head resting alongside Sarama’s body.

“Would you like Fitz to propose to you, too?” Jemma deadpans, curling her fingers into Fitz’s shirt.

“I think I’d like that, yes,” her dæmon responds, and she lets out a small _tsk_. Forestalling any further bickering - the two of them had only recently made up, after all, and he doesn’t want them to regress - Fitz leans in to give his fiancée ( _fiancée!_ ) a kiss on the cheek and then shuffles over to the bed. 

“Caedmon,” Fitz says, leaning forward on the edge of the bed so he’s staring the lion head-on, “will you and Jemma marry me and Sarama?”

“Sarama and I,” Jemma corrects from beside him, and he shushes her.

“I’d like that,” Caedmon answers, and then scoots forward enough that Fitz can reach around his head for a hug. 

Beside them, Jemma leans down to the edge of the bed, putting herself at eye-level with the lizard. “What do you think, Sarama?” she says, unable to fight the grin that tugs at the corner of her mouth. “Marry us, too?”

“About time,” Sarama teases in response, lifting up onto her front legs so that Jemma can scoop her up onto her arm. 

With that, Jemma wraps her other arm around Fitz’s back, nuzzling into his neck. They stay like that for quite some time, giggling sporadically about their oddly shaped four-way hug but each of them knowing that this was exactly the way it was meant to be. Jemma and Caedmon with Fitz and Sarama - happiest together, no matter where that was.

(Fitz doesn’t have the ring yet - he has to call his mum and have his grandmother’s mailed over to them in the US. Jemma’s more than happy to wait.)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post 1](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159566507438/hey-there-a-side-by-side-question-for-you-how). [Tumblr post 2](https://agentverbivore.tumblr.com/post/159546705613/oh-ok-erm-what-about-the-framework-how-are-fitz).

> _[bespiins-deactivated20180815](https://bespiins-deactivated20180815.tumblr.com/) asked: How exactly did things work out in SBS canon during the events of 4x07?_
> 
> [p _oursuislesetoiles_](https://poursuislesetoiles.tumblr.com/) _asked: What about the Framework? How are Fitz and Sarama faring? how did their personalities change- anything different from canon? And Jemma and Caedmon, the poor dears- how did they react?_

One little tidbit that'd change the very basic way that the events of season 4 happen in this 'verse is that the four of them have moved into their apartment outside of the Playground already, so they’re a degree removed from anything that happens at the base during these storylines.

Then, the dæmon facet of this universe (which makes it already a lot more "magical" than MCU canon to begin with) would probably have the biggest effect on the season 4 storylines, out of all the other seasons - it drastically changes (fundamentally erasing) the canon problems of season 4b/4c since there is no way to truly digitally or artificially replicate a dæmon. Neither Radcliffe nor AIDA can replicate dæmons. It’s beyond even the Darkhold’s instructional capabilities to recreate the physical embodiments of humans’ souls. After all, in HDM dæmons and humans can canonically _sense_ the difference between a dæmon and an actual animal - they could tell the difference between anything artificial and a true dæmon right away, either in a virtual world or in the real world.

I suspect that perhaps early on, Radcliffe tried to find a way to make realistic digital dæmons in some kind of virtual world, but gave it up early on because every human brought into that kind of virtual world would know instantly that a dæmon wasn't a dæmon. As far as I conceive it, because of their semi-corporal existence (they're made up of Dust, so their biology isn't quite the same as actual animals), you couldn't "plug" the dæmons into any kind of digital world with their humans, so they'd have to be separated, and that would just be - unthinkable. No human would want to live without their dæmon, so that wouldn't be a true solution to Agnes' illness, as far as Radcliffe is concerned. Even if someone else might have thought that immortality might be a decent trade-off, that wouldn't be enough for Radcliffe - he wants Agnes to have her real life, to feel as if nothing was different. And if her dæmon weren't there, that would change _everything_ for her. No, no - Radcliffe needs to find a way to save both Agnes and her dæmon.

As such, Radcliffe’s aims might be less about creating a virtual world and more about creating everlasting life (using the Darkhold). Trying to create everlasting life, of course, would prompt other problems (maybe an elixir goes wrong and becomes some kind of dæmon-killing plague? Step aside, Hive), and would also connect to post-Darkhold-AIDA’s attempts to create her own dæmon. In order for AIDA to become a real human, she must also have a dæmon - it's a similar test of legitimacy to what certain panserbjørn seek in HDM. 

I could see AIDA kidnapping dæmons and/or humans in this hunt - in this 'verse, it’d make more sense for her to kidnap and attempt to study Jemma & Caedmon, since their bond is stretched past the normal distance. Their separation could be the key that AIDA is seeking to crack the secret to creating her own dæmon; plus, Jemma's biological background would be a more natural fit for helping AIDA in this search. I could also see AIDA perhaps continuing to attempt Hydra’s research about [intercision](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FD%25C3%25A6mon_%28His_Dark_Materials%29%23Intercision&t=ZmI5ODZjYzcyYTA3YjQwZDFjZmFiM2JmYTUxNWUzZjU2ZjZiZDRlZSxDZ0VSVW5Tbw%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159566507438%2Fhey-there-a-side-by-side-question-for-you-how&m=0)... perhaps when she fails at creating a dæmon of her own, she decides that no one else should have one, either. But again, that’d all be done in the real world - no inter-digital travel using science here, as far as I can parse it. They’d have to locate [the subtle knife](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhdm.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2F%25C3%2586sah%25C3%25A6ttr&t=MDZkZjRkYzYyOGJjNmIzMjZjMzgzYjhjN2FkYjY5ZTMxY2MwMWNlZCxDZ0VSVW5Tbw%3D%3D&b=t%3AkgUJ1EiH6Y6Yw42mlpnRxg&p=https%3A%2F%2Fagentverbivore.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F159566507438%2Fhey-there-a-side-by-side-question-for-you-how&m=0) for that.


End file.
